Safety First in UAE: Sales of security and fire systems to hotels on the rise

Honeywell’s GM says business is good not just in luxury segment but across the board

Image used for illustrative purpose. A view of a room in the world's first Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa in Dubai April 27, 2010.

REUTERS/Mosab Omar

Ed Clowes,
Gulf News

Dubai: The sale of security equipment, including CCTV cameras, surveillance systems, authorised access controls, and central security control systems, are all hugely popular for hoteliers across the region, said Dilip Sinha, General Manager at Honeywell Environmental and Energy Solutions, Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

“Swimming pools, hallways — everything is monitored. Every entry point is monitored by CCTV cameras, and this is all integrated and monitored centrally by security,” Sinha said in an interview with Gulf News at the Hotel Show on Monday.

“Security is very big,” added Sinha. “The security business is on the rise big time in all categories. Not just in luxury, but across all segments.”

According to a report from August by analysts Research and Markets, the UAE Video Surveillance market is projected to reach $193.7 million (Dh711.3 million) by 2023. Despite a small dip in 2016, the market is anticipated to bounce back with the recovery of oil prices post 2017. Growing security concerns in the region are expected to boost growth of the video surveillance market over the next six years. The rapidly growing hospitality sector is expected to partly fuel this increase in sales.

The sales of fire safety technology, something that Honeywell specialises in, is also on the rise due to regulations requiring hotels to have adequate fire protection.

“Right now, more hotels are looking for sensitive fire detection systems. Our technology can prevent damage from fires, as Honeywell can tell when something is taking place anywhere in the hotel,” Sinha said.

Ultimately, according to Sinha, Honeywell’s big strength lies in its integrated systems, allowing hotel operators a greater degree of control over their environments, increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.

“The big focus for us in on the luxury segment,” he said, adding that in a competitive market like the UAE’s hotel industry, ultimately what was going to give certain hotels an advantage over others would be their use of technology.